Flooring company refunds Central Florida family after 3-year fight over bad install

Empire Today issues apology, determined there were installation issues

MINNEOLA, Fla. – Carrie Jones said she wanted to update her Minneola home with brand new wood laminate floors so she shopped around and picked Empire Today to do the job, since it was a nationwide company.

The Empire Today website had good reviews, so she figured she'd get good customer service.

But two months after the laminate flooring was installed by a professional Empire Today crew, she said, she started noticing problems including the floor slats separating, pieces bubbling and certain sections moving under her feet. She also pointed out problems with the wood laminate installed on their staircase.

"The stairs looked fine, but then when you would step on it, wood would pop up and trip you," Jones said. "My 83-year-old mom got thrown down the stairs, and I got thrown down the stairs." 

Jones said her grandson and young neighbor were also injured and Jones said she had to go to an orthopedic specialist for an injury to her hip after her fall down the stairs.

Jones said she made 30 calls to Empire Today's customer service department, and tried to set up a time for a representative to come evaluate the complaints. 

But she said no one ever came.

"I just know we fell through the cracks," Jones said. "We fell through the cracks horribly."

Empire Today advertises a one-year guarantee warranty on its website. It states Empire will repair, reinstall, re-perform or refund the purchase price of the failing Empire service at Empire's option.

Finally -- two and a half years after the original installation -- a crew did come out and replace the stairs, but Jones said they tore up the walls and banister in the process.

She said they failed to fix it and paint it before they left, and she even found a few nails sticking out that should have been secured.

"My husband has to kind of hammer them down," Jones said.

She said she even called another company to see if they could fix the floors and stairs.

"And when they saw what was done they were, like, 'We're not going to touch this,'" Jones said. "So that's when we turned to you all."

That was in March. 

After News 6 Investigators called and emailed Empire Today, the company's director of national customer service took a close look at Jones' account and took action.

The director saw how long Jones had been waiting for results and apologized for her experience.

Not only that, they sent her a check for more than $5,000 -- the full cost of her install.

Jones said Empire Today has also offered to pay for all the medical bills from the falls.

"I feel good about it because they took responsibility," Jones said. "News 6 got results for me, because I had tried for three years and got nowhere. So yes, News 6 absolutely got results for me." 

According to officials from the Florida Attorney General’s office, they investigated more than two dozen complaints against Empire Today during the past five years:

2013 - 4
2014 - 1
2015 – 5
2016 – 6
2017 – 9
2018 – 1

In 2016, the state agency reached out to Empire Today to resolve those complaints. Kylie Mason, the press secretary for the office of Attorney General Pam Bondi, said they continue to forward all complaints to the company for responses, and to date, the majority of these complaints have been resolved.


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